Springfield — Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) told Kinder Morgan subsidiary Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company Wednesday (June 29) that its application for a water quality certificate was approved for its Connecticut Expansion Project, natural gas storage loop that will cut through a pristine slice of state protected land in Otis State Forest, located in the town of Sandisfield.
In a letter to pipeline project manager James Flynn, MassDEP Wetlands Program Chief David Cameron said the approval was based on “reasonable assurance” that the project would be conducted in a way that would not violate the state’s surface water quality standards and other state laws.
The project, however, is at odds with almost everyone, including Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s office, which has been in and out of court trying to stop the company from blazing ahead with plans that involve clearing trees near an old growth forest in Sandisfield, and flushing newly installed pipes with water drawn from Spectacle Pond.
The land was purchased by the Commonwealth about 10 years ago, and is protected by Article 97 of the state constitution. While a Berkshire Superior Court judge ruled that Tennessee Gas has a right to the land under a federal law governing eminent domain easements for pipelines, he also said the company had to make sure it was adhering to state regulations, and that the Legislature had to sort out its position on the issue, since easements on Article 97 land can only be granted with a two-thirds vote.
The same Judge ruled this month that the company had to wait until the end of the Legislative session, July 29, before it could begin clearing the land to accommodate what will be a third pipeline on an existing corridor already containing two pipelines.
The certificate has long list of detailed conditions for work to wetlands areas along the 3-mile path of what is a 13-mile total pipeline route. The loop cuts across three states, holding gas intended for Connecticut customers.
Despite the conditions, environmentalists are concerned. Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) Executive Director Jane Winn said she has a call in to MassDEP for clarification about whether the conditions applied by all involved agencies are lining up and do not conflict with each other. Those agencies are the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), MassDEP, the Army Corps of Engineers, and most importantly, Winn said, the Sandisfield Conservation Commission.
Commission Secretary Clare English told the Edge in an email that Commission members were unable to comment Thursday, since they had not yet had a chance to review the certificate.
Winn said BEAT is going over the certificate with a “fine tooth comb” to find issues that might be “appealable,” since there are 21 days in which to appeal MassDEP’s decision.
One major concern, she said, is when the pipes are flushed. “We don’t know what chemicals could come off the lining inside the pipes. We’ve been asking for that information since the first Conservation Commission meeting on this. [Tennessee Gas] says it’s epoxy, but it is proprietary information. That’s just one issue.”
While U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service said it plans to help the company mitigate harm to endangered species, mostly nesting birds, Winn says those plans are “pretty pathetic.”
State Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D-Lenox) said he encourages an appeal to the certificate as leverage to keep Tennessee Gas in line and force them to be “honorable,” and “honor the agreements they’ve made with the town of Sandisfield.”
Kinder Morgan has begun to backpedal on a promise to pay the town about $1 million in compensation for wear and tear or damage to roads and other town infrastructure. The Fortune 500 Corporation also promised the town of 800 residents it would reimburse the town’s $30,000 in legal bills racked up negotiating with Kinder Morgan attorneys. Town Manager Alice Boyd previously told the Edge Kinder Morgan has gone silent.
“Delay, delay, delay,” Pignatelli said. “This may buy us more time. I say exercise every appeal possible. We’ve already been FERC’ed,” he added, using a phrase he coined when FERC chose to allow Tennessee Gas to apply for an easement to state conservation land.
“We can’t reverse that, so now we have protect the town.” He further said an appeal could delay the pipeline construction work by 6 to 9 months in which Tennessee Gas could not so much as lay a finger on the land. “We can’t just roll over,” he said.
Winn told the Edge civil disobedience might be right around the corner.
“I hope we can stop this,” Winn said. “There are people from all across the state who feel very strongly about keeping permanently protected lands permanently protected. I am sure [those people] will be on the site if this goes through.”
She said two protests organized by the Sugar Shack Alliance and Sandisfield Taxpayers Opposed to the Pipeline (STOP), are planned on July 16: one in Great Barrington from 12-1 p.m., and the other at Spectacle Pond in Sandisfield from 2-4 p.m. More detailed information to follow.
At the same time, Winn said, environmentalists will march along Spectra’s Access Northeast (ANE) pipeline path and finish at the statehouse, to protest “fracked gas that we do not need.”
